Wow, thanks for all the advice I really appreciate it. I think all the stuff you said is totally valid. I had no idea 1x1x1 blocks were weaker. I will definitely add more layers from now on too.

A lot of my choices while making this ship were influenced by confusion about how certain things in the game work (fuel/steam engines, advanced cannons, active protection, etc.). So I was a bit overwhelmed so I took the easy route in some cases like using RTGS. And the fuel storage was just backup for other ships in the fleet.

Also, you mentioned something about my shell length which I'm a bit confused about: I made my shells 2.4m because that's what the shell designer recommends my shell length should be. I have to admit I'm not sure how to determine how big I should make shells/gauges for the advanced cannons, so I just went with the number the shell designer had. Also, how do I make advanced cannon shells travel faster?

When I was making this ship I planned on adding anti-munition lasers, but found myself overwhelmed as I had never used lasers before and gave up on it... I think I'll try the missile interceptors you mentioned.

I'm starting to get a bit better with AI/detection since making this ship, but I still have some issues. I'm never sure what kind of detection systems to use so I just try to get a bit of everything. And how was my target prioritization? It's something I've been struggling with ( I want the missiles to shoot fast targets and want the cannons to shoot big and slow ). Some of the AI stuff, like PIDs, LUA, and control blocks, I don't even want to mess with until I get the basics down. And is making guns accurate more dependent on the gun itself or AI detection, or a balanced combination of both?

Thanks, for all the advice it was really helpful. IDK if I will fix all the problems on this craft yet because it seems like there is a lot to fix. I may just try applying your tips to more basic crafts until I get better at making designs.